VIFF 2014: Everything Will Be

In Everything Will Be (directed by Julia Kwan), the story flips between the old and the new of Vancouver's fast-changing Chinatown, with the focus on the rich community of characters that live and work there.

The film combines artful shots, great segues, well-chosen music (sound design by Velcrow Ripper) and a wandering security guard who pulls together the threads of narrative provided by community members. These range from the "knitters" (elderly women who knit and sell their wares on the street front), the last remaining Italian shopkeeper on Main Street (Angelo Tosi who states "each cheese has personal attention"), and an herbalist (with rapid-fire abacus skills), to newer arrivals like the workers at the apothecary-themed Keefer Bar (featuring drinks infused with the vibrations of a tuning fork), a young artist who set up on Gore St. for a year to test his mettle, and Vancouver's condo-king, Bob Rennie, who has restored the historic Wing Sang building to house his marketing business and to display selections from his contemporary art collection and who advises, "If you follow the artists and the prostitutes, you will see where the city's moving".

The life of Chinatown ebbs and flows amidst trendy shops and restaurants, grotty alleyways, old world businesses, and needle-strewn gutters. The film’s title is taken from the neon sign (by artist Martin Creed) displayed across the top of the Bob Rennie building, "EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT". A fascinating and galvanizing look at a vibrant community that is transforming rapidly.